This section introduces aspects that may be helpful to facilitating a better understanding of the inventions. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
Communication system standards in the wireless cellular context include, for example, Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards promulgated by an organization known as the 3G Partnership Project (3GPP). The LTE standards developed by 3GPP define an LTE system that includes an Internet protocol (IP) based packet core referred to as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC).
In an example LTE system, user equipment such as a mobile device communicates over an air interface with a base station referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB). The eNB is illustratively part of an access network of the LTE system, such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).
Under current practice, security for the air interface between the user equipment and the eNB is provided using techniques described in, for example, 3GPP TS 33.401 V12.12.0 (2014-09), Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects, 3GPP System Architecture Evolution (SAE), Security Architecture (Release 12), which is incorporated by reference herein.